Eglinton-Crosstown Tunnel Is Half Mined

TORONTO – Two TBMs mining the western segment of the Eglinton-Crosstown’s 10km tunnel, officially reached the half-way point of their journey on January 21 as they broke through the headwall at Allen Road.<br />A total of four TBMs are employed on the project, which requires 5.75m diameter tunnels. The TBMs boring the western portion of the tunnel ...

TORONTO – Two TBMs mining the western segment of the Eglinton-Crosstown’s 10km tunnel, officially reached the half-way point of their journey on January 21 as they broke through the headwall at Allen Road.

A total of four TBMs are employed on the project, which requires 5.75m diameter tunnels. The TBMs boring the western portion of the tunnel each completed a 3.547m drive to arrive at Allen Road. Each TBM installed 14,124 precast concrete tunnel liners, which formed 2,354 rings.

Over the next several weeks, crews will prepare the TBMs to be moved to the other side of Allen Road to bypass an existing subway line. Once they are relaunched on the east side, both machines will continue their tunnel drives east toward Yonge Street to complete the 6.5km western segment of the Crosstown tunnel.

"It's great to see progress on this important transit project that will benefit Toronto riders," said Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation. "This project is proof of our government's commitment to making the daily commute and quality of life better for Ontario families."

"The incredible progress we're seeing on this project is the realization of important investments in transit made in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area," said Bruce Mc Cuaig, President and CEO of Metrolinx. "The Eglinton Crosstown LRT is a significant undertaking and it will transform the transit landscape in Toronto when it's complete in 2020."

Crosstown Transit Constructors, a joint venture of Obayashi Canada, Kenny Construction, Kenaidan Contracting and Technicore Underground, won the contract to build the 6.2km tunnel in 2012.

A second contract, awarded to an Aecon-Dragados Joint Venture, will construct approximately 3.25km of twin tunnels using the other two TBMs, which are expected to launch this fall, according to Metrolinx.